DEATH INVESTIGATORS
GEORGETOWN — Williamson County commissioners approved $100,000 for Precinct 4 autopsy costs after County Manager Rebecca Clemons provided an update on the death-inquest investigators program.
Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace Rhonda Redden, who had been an advocate for the program, withdrew her participation from it earlier this year. Redden is based in Taylor.
Prior to the creation of the new death-investigator program in January, the county’s four justices of the peace handled all death investigations in Williamson County.
Death investigators were added to support the judges so they would have more time for other duties, but with the rapid growth of the county, communities are not only seeing an increase in population but also a rise in deaths, commissioners were told during the Tuesday meeting.
“In 2024, we were averaging a little over 21 (deaths) per week. We are now at over 26 (deaths) per week. There has definitely been a jump this year that we haven’t seen in previous years,” Clemons said.
The DI program was established to offset costs and to provide the judges more time on the bench.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said it remains under evaluation.
“We’re spending over $300,000 on this (program), maybe less, because Precinct 4 doesn’t want to participate anymore,” Covey said.
Redden decided to “discontinue utilizing the services of the Office of the Death Investigator,” she said in a previous interview.
In the same interview, Redden added it was her responsibility to ensure that Precinct 4 operated with “the highest level of professionalism, efficiency and mutual respect.”
Clemons said Precincts 2, 3, and 4 have all requested more funds to cover autopsies for fiscal year 2026.
Precinct 1 and Precinct 4 lead in requesting the highest number of autopsies, although those figures are not based on geographical populations as each precinct takes a weekly turn covering the entire county.
Since JP4 no longer has the assistance of a DI, Redden makes all decisions regarding deaths during her rotation.
Clemons presented budget charts showing costs for body transport and autopsies.
Because Williamson County does not have its own medically trained forensic pathologist, autopsies are performed at the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office in Austin or Hill Country Forensics in Georgetown, for a fee of $4,100 and $3,200, respectively.
A medical examiner is a doctor — a forensic pathologist — who probes deaths that appear unusual or suspicious, performs autopsies and can initiate legal inquests.
County Judge Steven Snell asked Clemons if the county had an expected timeline for its own medical examiner’s office.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Clemons said.
While a location has been determined for a Williamson County forensic pathology and crime lab, no funding is in the budget.
Clemons noted that while the DI program is currently working for the county, she does not think it will remain a viable model. As the county’s high growth in population continues, deaths are projected to average 40 a week within the next few years.
Clemons will be meeting with other agencies and having discussions to find a way to modify the current DI program “as we start to work towards an ME (medical examiner) model. This is a brainstorming year. We’ll have more to come on that,” Clemons said.
Commissioners meet 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays at 710 S. Main St. Sessions can also be viewed online at wilcotx. gov/331/Commissioners-Court.
